IPL 2018: Meet Wangdi Gyalto Bhutia, the fan who wants to put KKR flag on top of Mount Everest

Wangdi Gyalto Bhutia, the fan who wants to put KKR flag on top of Mount Everest. (IE)

IPL 2018: A professional mountaineer and a long time fan of Kolkata Knight Riders, Wangdi Gyalto Bhutia is all set to hoist the KKR flag on top of Mount Everest. Bhutia who has successfully climbed up the Mount Everest twice, is ready to do it again but this time with a KKR flag. The 34-year-old mountaineer from Darjeeling, West Bengal has also climbed the World’s eighth highest peak, Mount Manaslu. Wangdi is very excited and enthusiastic to put up the flag of KKR on the summit that he has decided to climb the Mount Everest without Oxygen to make the occasion even more special.

Albeit he might have to use at least one bottle of oxygen, he thinks. “I have been a KKR fan ever since the IPL began, and I have secretly dreamed of carrying the flag to the top of Everest. This time, the IPL season coincides with one of my climbs, and I don’t know when I will have a chance like this again. I’ll be able to summit well in time for the IPL final, and I want to see KKR win,” Wangdi told The Indian Express.

Delighted to see Wangdi carrying KKR flag, KKR MD & CEO, Venky Mysore said, “On behalf of all of us at KKR, here’s wishing Wangdi the very best as he attempts his third summit of Everest. We are also honoured that he wants to hoist the KKR flag on the summit. God speed.”

Wangdi will be accompanied by his team from Dreamers Destination Treks and Expeditions. The team is led by Pemba Dorje Sherpa, and his other teammates are Bhuchung Lama and Phurba Tenjing Sherpa. Wangdi says, all of them are very happy that he is going to fulfil his dream.

As KKR will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday in their last match before the IPL play-offs, Wangdi hopes that the team will remember that their biggest fan will be facing the perilous cold winds and the world’s most vulnerable terrain to put them on the highest pedestal on earth.